Ralph "Firecracker" Conley sets tree on fire, Elburn, Ill., 1932

St. Charles (Kane County, Illinois) Chronicle, July 14, 1932. When Ralph Conley threw a disabled firecracker in a hold of the old tree at the corner of the Conley lot, he did not suspect it would be necessary to pull the tree down to put out the fire. Fred Fletcher, local telephone man, put a tow rope on the top and pulled it over. The Elburn Fire department, out for practice on the regular meeting night, put out the fire, which had gained considerable headway. -- Elburn Herald (Posted as a courtesy, not related.)